If I have anything to recommend to persons in such circumstances, it is meditation upon the sufferings of the Son of God, and the consideration of his infinite love for sinful men. That they should raise their eyes in faith, to the heart of Jesus, and behold there how great his love has been towards them from eternity; that they may read the decree of their election in his pierced hands and side, and there learn what return they ought to make for what he has done and suffered for them. Let them recall to mind all the steps he has taken, and the means he has employed to draw them to himself, to gain their hearts, to bring them to the knowledge of his salvation and the enjoyment of his grace. Let nothing cause them to doubt of the great salvation the good Saviour has accomplished for them by his meritorious death, nor of his faithfulness to perform to them his promises at a moment when, above all, his support and consolations are most necessary. In fine, in the midst of weakness, in the decay of nature, let them stay themselves by faith upon this immoveable foundation: "Jesus has loved and redeemed me, he has given himself for me. and will be his."

I am

While the children of God thus cleave to and embrace the author of their salvation, his Spirit never fails to strengthen and console them, He

manifests to them the glory reserved for them, and the felicity they have not merited, but which Jesus has acquired and destined for them, as the termination of their sufferings and the end of their faith. They can then rejoice in having been happily brought, by the aid of their God and Saviour, to the close of their career. Their heart is consoled and cheered, because their deliverance draweth nigh; and soon they are to be entirely and for ever freed from all danger, all misery, and all sin.

Disciple.-Ah, what joy and felicity to be thus delivered from so many evils, and transported into the mansions of perfect repose and eternal peace!

Pastor.-Yes, assuredly; it is ineffable happiness to a soul that can appreciate true benefits. It is not only liberated from sin and all the miseries of this life, and every fear for the future, but what is more, it is put into possession of all that is most amiable and delightful in eternity. Have you ever beheld the coronation of a king, or the marriage of a great prince? Can your imagination paint what any one feels in the midst of the most lively pleasures, which charm every sense and inundate the mind with joy inexpressible? Well, all this is but vanity, when compared with the grandeur and delight of heavenly bliss. You know what the heart experiences at bebolding a faithful friend, a

tender husband, a beloved child, after a long absence. Figure to yourself what must be the transport of a soul, admitted into the beatific vision of its great Friend, of Jesus its heavenly and eternal Bridegroom. Those who have experienced the foretaste of this felicity, can alone form any idea of it. Who can conceive the delightful repose and peace to be enjoyed in the bosom of God; the beauty and magnificence which surround his throne; the plenitude of joy and bliss his presence diffuses throughout the soul? What more charming than the conversations we shall hold with the holy angels; with all the children of God that have lived upon earth since the creation of the world; with our brethren, our relatives, and beloved friends. How many things will they have to relate to us, while we recount to them the goodness of the Lord to us, and they likewise communicate to ùs by what admirable means he has conducted them to that blessed place. We shall exclaim: Behold now the acceptable time! Behold the great day of salvation! Behold that glory and beatitude, which, while we sojourned in the vale of tears, was the subject of our discourses and hymns, the object of our vows and desires! What we now witness, what we now enjoy and experience, infinitely surpasses what we then could think or express of it. But the most ravishing of all to our souls will be

the first gracious look the Son of God, our dear and adorable Friend, will deign to cast upon us, and the transporting privilege of being able to contemplate him eternally, whom we have believed and loved. What ecstacy to hear him pronounce, with a joyful countenance, when opening to us the gates of his kingdom of glory, this rapturous welcome, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," Matt. xxv. 34 O that it would please God, that all men might believe and aspire after it!

But it is enough; soon the Lord who hears us will come and call us. Let us be ready, having our loins girded about " and "our lights burning."

Disciple.-Let the beloved Bridegroom of my soul come when he pleases. My heart languishes to kiss his pierced hands and feet; and already says, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." Amen.

THE END.

J. BARKER, Printer,

9, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London.